Eddie Gills drained a buzzer-beater to give the Townsville Crocodiles a thrilling 65-63 NBL home win over the Wollongong Hawks on Saturday night.
Gill finished with 11 points, but youngster Todd Blanchfield was the match-winner with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting and eight rebounds at the Townsville Entertainment Centre.
For the Hawks, Tim Coenraad (16 points), Oscar Forman (16) and Rhys Martin (11) were outstanding in a hostile environment as Wollongong nearly pulled off a memorable victory.
Spurred by their win over the Taipans the Hawks initiated a fast-paced contest but the Crocs led 39-37 at the half.
The Crocs threatened to break away repeatedly in the second half, but the Hawks hung tough after Townsville established a 56-47 lead.
Larry Davidson levelled the scores at 63-63 before Gill broke the Hawks hearts with his heroics.
On the Gold Coast, the Blaze survived a second-half scare to crush the Melbourne Tigers 92-78.
In Gold Coast veteran Stephen Hoare's 450th NBL game the Blaze made sure it was a night to celebrate, defeating the club he called home for eight seasons.
Fittingly it was Hoare who sealed the win after the Blaze had blown a 20-point third quarter-lead, slicing his way through traffic to push the home team's lead back past double-digits with less than four minutes remaining.
The leadership of point guard Adam Gibson (23 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists) was superb, while Mark Worthington (19) and Anthony Petrie (12) also made strong contributions for the Blaze.
Ron Dorsey, with 24 points, was a constant threat for the Tigers, although he found little help from his team-mates.
AAP
Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, townsville-4810, qld, australia, wollongong-2500, nsw, southport-4215, melbourne-3000, vic First posted January 21, 2012 23:40:07
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